Gray's Puddle
by evanesce24
Summary: Mainly Gruvia, but Fraxus and Gavy as well. NAtsu ruins a triple date by getting them all sent to an upside down world in the sky, where their magic weakens and dies. Juvia runs into trouble, and Gray goes to any lengths to help her make it home alive.


Gray lounged against a tree, it's branches shading Juvia and him from the bright, warming sun. She leaned against him and fiddled with the fabric of his pants, glad he'd remembered to wear them. They were on a triple date with Laxus and Freed and Gajeel and Levy, and she wanted him to look decent, not that she minded much when he didn't.

"Hey, you guys want some brownies?" Levy offered, taking a tub of home-made brownies from the picnic basket.

"Sure," Gray accepted, and he and Juvia got up to walk over to the blanket the others were sitting around.

"These are good," Juvia said, biting into the brownie. "Did Levy-chan make them?"

Levy giggled, glancing at Gajeel, who rolled his eyes. Soon everyone was staring at him, and when Levy nudged his arm, he gave in and sighed, "Actually, I made them. Levy made me."

"Well, they are very good," Freed assured him, and everyone laughed.

The moment was perfect, everyone smiling—but for Gajeel—the sun shimmering down on the three couples, with only the sound of the wind in the leaves and their own laughter to be heard.

Perfect.

"Hey, guys!" a shrill, excited voice erupted from the other side of the field. Laxus zapped his brownie out of irritation as Natsu came running out of the forest with Happy gliding next to him.

"What are you doing here, Slanty Eyes?" Gray growled. How could Natsu have been such a nuisance as to bother them on their triple-date? All three couples had just gotten together, and now Natsu was ruining their fun time together.

"Happy and I were wandering around in the forest, and we found something so cool!" Natsu shouted.

"Aye!"

Gajeel groaned, "Whatever it is, we really don't care."

"Well, I'd like to see, Natsu," Levy said brightly, her peppiness making up for her boyfriend's gruffness: a perfect match.

"Happy?" Natsu suggested, throwing his friend an glance.

"Aye, sir!" Happy slipped his green back pack off his back and emptied it as he flew over the group.

Along with a few fish, a smooth purple sphere came raining down on them. "Hey, Natsu!" Freed yelled, agitated by how Natsu chose to present this object. It fell down fast, and he tried to catch it, but as soon as it touched his hands, he disappeared, and it bounced back up.

"No!" Natsu warned them, worried they'd all try to touch it. "You can't touch it with your skin!"

"What'd you say? Speak up, idiot!" Gajeel shouted, but as he did, the sphere came down again and hit his bare shoulder, causing him to vanish as well.

"Natsu!" Levy screamed, having recognized the object as a transportation lacrima. "Where'd you find this?"

"I said, in the woods," Natsu told her again.

Happy swooped back, holding his backpack open to try and catch it. He missed by only a few inches, but the impact of the backpack on the lacrima pushed it to fall into the back of Laxus's neck. He disappeared, and the lacrima flew up and shot down again.

"Ice Make: Sheild!" Gray shouted, creating a shield of ice over them, ending the matter.

Only it didn't end anything. The lacrima shattered the ice, and the smooth surface caught on Levy's shoulder. Happy again failed at catching the thing in his backpack, and it burst down again, hitting Gray's unclothed chest before he could doge it.

"Gray-sama!" Juvia shouted, rage boiling through her water body. When it came down again, she caught it. Since she wore long periwinkle gloves, her hands were protected from its magic. She turned to Natsu with anger pulsing through her with every step she took towards him.

"J-Juvia!"

"Natsu!" she shrieked running towards him now. He took her Gray from her. He will pay. She took her Sierra form—though keeping the hand that held the lacrima solid and gloved-and flung herself towards him as a wave of boiling water. When she was close enough, she slammed the lacrima into Natsu's chest.

Natsu gasped, the wind knocked out of him, and vanished, leaving Juvia and Happy alone.

"Juvia, what did you do to Natsu?" Happy muttered.

"Juvia's sorry!" she screamed, realizing that six of the guild's strongest mages had just been transported to a place unknown, and the last one was her fault. With a firm face, she tossed the lacrima to the ground and peeled off her gloves. "Juvia will follow them and bring us home!" The water mage fell to her knees before the purple lacrima and pressed both of her hands to it.

In a flash, she was gone. Happy sighed and, deciding he had nothing better to do, slung his backpack over his shoulder and touched the lacrima.

And so, the field in the woods outside Magnolia were empty but for a picnic set up, some large chunks of ice, Juvia's gloves, and a purple transportation lacrima.

Juvia opened her eyes to see her Gray standing in a wide expanse of only white. He wasn't wearing a shirt anymore, but that wasn't a surprise. Freed, Laxus, Gajeel, Levy, and Natsu were also there. Happy soon appeared behind her and flew into Natsu's arms. "Natsu, where are we?" he wailed.

"I don't know," Natsu told him, stroking his blue head.

"Let's just walk around until we find something beside this empty space," Gajeel suggested, and with no other options, the rest agreed.

"So," Natsu said obnoxiously after a few minutes of silence. "Were you guys all, like, on a date?"

"Yes," Laxus snapped at him. "Until you came and ruined it."

Natsu raised his hands defensively. "Not my fault you didn't listen to me when I said don't touch it.

Gray was about to punch him, but Juvia stopped him. "Gray-sama! Just leave Natsu-kun alone. He's an exasperating boy, but he isn't worth Gray-sama's energy."

Gray huffed and gave Natsu a nasty glare before turning back to Juvia. "You're right, Juvia."

She smiled, and he leaned down to kiss her, causing Natsu to gag. Gajeel shot Natsu the "Oh, grown up" eye roll and slung his arm around Levy.

"You're smart, Levy," Gajeel noted. "Where do you think we are?"

"Gajeel, I don't know any more about this place than anyone else," she told him sweetly, flattered by how highly he viewed her intelligence. "Let's just keep walking and see what we find."

"Naw, going like this'll take too long," Natsu said. "Happy and I will fly ahead with his max speed and see what's in this place. Happy?"

"Aye!" Happy grabbed Natsu by the back of his vest and took off. However, after flying for a minute or so at max speed, Happy's wings vanished, and the two feel to the white ground. "Ugh…."

"What's wrong, Happy?" Natsu insisted. "You've never run out of magic power so fast before."

"I don't know, Natsu," Happy groaned.

"Well, here, I'll fly us." Natsu scooped the blue cat up and jumped into the air. "Wings of the Fire Dragon!" Two huge wings of flame sprouted from his back and he flew with Happy towards the horizon, on which something was starting to appear in the emptiness. But just as Natsu was starting to make it out, an overpowering feeling of feebleness washed over him, and he fell, his fire wings gone. He groaned not out of pain or exhaustion, but of frustration. How could his power be failing him? He beat his fists into the ground. "Fist of the Fire Dragon!" he shouted, but his fist produced only a weak flame.

"Natsu!" Gajeel yelled, and Natsu turned to see the group running to catch up with him. "What happened? We saw you and Happy fall."

"Are you out of magic power?" Levy asked.

"It feels like it," Natsu coughed. "I can still use my magic, but it's weak," he explained, showing them is Fire Fist. "And Happy too." He gestured to how Happy flew, but slow and low to the ground.

"What's going on here?" Gray wondered out loud.

Laxus shrugged. "No harm in testing it. Fist of the Lightning Dragon!" Compared the to large blast of electricity he was used to conjuring, the sparks that flew only a few feet in front of him looked like nothing.

"I think our magic power is weaker here," Levy observed and ordered everyone to use no more of their magic unless they had to. "I don't know if using it weakens it faster, but we can't risk it if it does."

Everyone agreed, and Gajeel ruffled her hair, "That's my Shorty: always knows what to do."

Levy blushed, and they walked on, Natsu carrying Happy. Juvia's heart was pounding fast and her breathing grew heavy. It didn't occur to anyone else, but Juvia was worried about it was soon as she saw Happy fall: without magic to hold her water body together, she'll melt into a puddle.

Soon, they walked under a tree that grew upside down from the white sky. "That's something you don't' see everyday," Freed said, and the others nodded, walking. More trees came, their branches reaching down from above.

Gray put his arm around Juvia, and her heart warmed. Even if she was going to melt, at least she had her Gray with her. Gray suddenly pulled his arm back and looked worriedly into Juvia's startled eyes. "Juvia, are you okay? You're sweating a lot. Are you sick?"

Juvia sighed, and looked down at the white ground. Her expectations were becoming true. Juvia looked behind her to see a soft trail of rain water footprints surrounded by stray drips. Gray followed her eyes and saw it too. "It's not sweat Gray-sama feels, but Juvia. Juvia needs magic at all times, but it's getting too weak now," she gulped.

"Don't worry, Juvia," Gray said, putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "I'll get us home before anything happens to you." He promptly scooped her up into his arms, running with her to the front of the pack. "Hurry up, guys! We're pressed for time!" Everyone, including Juvia, stared at him with wide eyes.

The other two couples, Natsu, and Happy, didn't know what had gotten into Gray, but they rushed after him. Juvia's heart fluttered even faster. She could feel Gray's strong arms holding her to his bare chest, his fingers gripping her dripping body as if trying to will the liquid to not slip though. But she could already feel they way they sometimes slipped into her watery arm, how she wasn't as solid as she should be.

Everyone ran and ran, desperate to find a way home from this strange world. Levy could feel the words on her fingertips, waiting to become solid, but she couldn't create them, only keep them bottled up.

All of a sudden, Freed collapsed on the ground, gasping for air. Laxus stopped to help him up. "All my magic is gone now," Freed said very matter-of-factly. Laxus helped him up, giving him a slight shock.

"Sorry," Laxus apologized as they ran ahead and caught up with the rest. Slight lightning had been leaking from his fingers the entire time, and he couldn't stop it.

They ran up until they were alongside Gray and Juvia. Laxus glanced over and saw that Juvia didn't look well. Sure, her face was happy as ever, beaming up at Gray as he carried her to safety, but her body was losing color and form, becoming clear and liquid. A hard determination was on Gray's face, staring straight head. No one knew if this was the right way or if they'd ever get home, but it was the path they'd chosen, and he wouldn't give up.

Laxus shot his hand out to catch her foot as it fell in a lump and reattach it to her ankle, and Gray nodded. But Laxus gave a grunt of pain as the last of his magic left him, his last drop of lightning traveling into Juvia's water.

She screamed with the pain of being electrocuted. The energy transferred into Gray, but it wasn't so bad for him, as he wasn't made of lightning's perfect conduit, so he continued running. Juvia pressed her face into his chest and hoped they'd get home soon.

The clock ticked on, and one by one, each of them felt a painful jolt as their magic left them. Gajeel caught Levy before she could fall and set her back on her feet.

They were approaching a vast expanse of water, and Gray knew he couldn't carry Juvia over it. He also knew they'd both be losing their last bits of power soon, and she'd be gone. He could feel his end coming and laid her down on the ground.

"Gray-sama," she sighed, knowing what was to come. "Juvia'll be okay."

Gray knew that if he let the last of her become a puddle of rain in this peculiar world they'd been sent to, she'd never come home. It might take more magic than he had left in him, which would leave him very weak, but he decided that this was the only thing to do. He put his palms to Juvia and shouted, "Ice Make: Juvia!"

He crumbled to the ground, his last reserves of magic flowing out of his body and into Juvia's. Everything went black as his head hit the ground, but before his eyes closed, he saw a bright light blue light and felt his soaking body suddenly dry. He breathed a sigh of relief before totally blacking out.

When Gray woke, Natsu was smacking him across the face. "Hey, Droopy Eyes!" he called. "No time for a nap. You said we were in a hurry!"

Gray snapped up, his body tense and eyes wide. "We are in a hurry! Juvia's melting without her magic!" he shouted, but no one moved.

"Gray," Levy said gently but with a wide smile on her face. "Juvia's not melting. She'll be fine until we get home. Someone will just have to carry her."

Gray let out a heavy breath. In his blackout, he'd forgotten the spell he'd cast to try to save Juvia, who'd been only a raised shape in a puddle last he saw her. Now, he remembered and hoped it had worked. He painfully lifted himself up and turned to see one of the most beautiful things he'd ever laid eyes on.

Standing before him, a few feet from the water, was an ice figure of Juvia. She stood with her hands behind her back, her head tilted slightly, and a gorgeous, sly smile on her lips. Except for the ice Juvia's lack of gloves, she looked just like she did when she first came to Fairy Tail. Gray looked into her ice eyes, which sparkled but not in the way the real Juvia's did. Nothing could compare to those deep blue eyes.

Gray found himself day dreaming, but pulled himself out of it, knowing they had to keep moving. "Let's get going," he said to the others, picking Juvia up.

"You need some help with her?" Natsu offered, rushing over to Gray and his ice Juvia.

"You stay away from her!" Gray roared, smacking Natsu's hands away from Juvia. "You may not have magic, but you still have a natural fire in you. I can't let you anywhere near her. If she melts, I have no ice left to mend her with. We're still in a hurry." Gray walked into the water until he was up to his hips, holding Juvia up over his head with cold hands, before turning around to see the others waiting back on the dry land.

"Hey, Gray!" Levy called. "Laxus had an idea."

Gray kept walking, but glanced at Laxus. He wouldn't waste time, but he'd hear him out. "Look at the trees," Laxus said. "They follow the shoreline. I'm thinking we should follow them and see what we find that way."

Gray spun around to see how the trees in the sky stopped at the water's edge. Looking back at the horizon, he decided that the shoreline had a better chance of leading them home than the water, which would eventually grow too deep for him to carry Juvia above the surface. "You guys, walk that way, I'll catch up!" he called. He couldn't let them wait for him and waste any more time.

Gray walked diagonally to the shore, and when he got there, sprinted as fast as he could while holding tight to the ice Juvia to catch up with the others.

"Hey, what's that up there?" Laxus wondered, pointing to something in the distance. At there level, there was only white emptiness, but among the trees in the sky, the saw what looked like pavement.

"A sidewalk?" Gajeel wondered.

They ran forward to the mysterious sidewalk and followed it until they reach small buildings and beyond them, the Fairy Tail guild building. "It's Magnolia!" Freed gasped.

Levy's face lit up with an idea, and she suddenly ran under the trees, away from the town and into the forest. No one knew what she was thinking, but it's a well-known fact in Fairy Tail that if Levy has an idea, it's probably best to follow it.

"Levy, wait!" Gajeel called after her. "What's the plan? Shouldn't we go to where the guild is?"

"No, the guild won't bring us home, Gajeel!" Levy responded over her shoulder. She lead them to an open area where the trees thinned. Above them, a picnic was set up, and drips fell down form melting ice.

Gray felt a few drops of it land on his head and looked up. "The field we had our picnic in?"

"You're a genius, Levy!" Freed praised, though no one understood but for the two smartest mages in the group.

"So, what's the plan?" Gajeel asked again.

Levy pointed up, "Look over there." They all looked where she pointed, but saw only Juvia's periwinkle gloves lying there.

"Yeah?" Gray asked. "What are we looking at? You know, we need more than her gloves to change her back."

"She knows, Gray, gosh," Natsu complained, though he didn't know where Levy was going with this, himself.

"Watch," Levy instructed. She walked to the place directly under the gloves and tapped the ground wither foot. To everyone's surprise, the purple transportation lacrima rose from the ground. "See?" she bent down to touch it with her hands and disappeared.

"Levy?" Gajeel called, not expecting an answer, but hoping she got home safe.

"I'm up here!" Startling everyone, Levy's voice came down from the sky. She stood upsid down next to Juvia's gloves, waving. "Come on! It's home, and everything's fine, see?" She proceeded to make a Solid Script brownie, and Gajeel laughed, grabbing the lacrima to join her.

Gray ran up next, touching ice Juvia to the lacrima to make sure it would work. It did. With normal ice, it wouldn't, but this ice was made of the water that formed Juvia's body, so the lacrima counted it as her flesh and took her up to the field. To Gray's dismay, he looked up to see not Juvia alive and well, waving back at him but only the ice sculpture exactly as he'd sent it.

"Don't worry," Laxus said. "Porlyusica's house isn't far from here. You can take Juvia to her."

Gray nodded and touched the lacrima, Laxus, Freed, Natsu, and Happy following him home. When Gray arrived in the field, he picked up the ice Juvia and her gloves and headed in the direction he knew Porlyusica's house was, hoping she'd set Juvia back to normal even though the return of magic from their world wasn't doing anything.

"You guys can go back to the guild if you want," he told them. "I won't drag you to Porlyusica's." He made it seem like he didn't want to waste their time, but really, he just wanted to have some alone time with Juvia after she was helped.

The others got the message and wished him luck. "We should have another triple date next week, since this one got ruined," Freed said throwing a sharp glare at Natsu.

"Sure!" Gray said with a hopeful smile before disappearing into the woods.

When he came to Porlyusica's house, he knocked hard on the door. "Hello! Porlyusica, it's Gray and Juvia from Fairy Tail. We need help!" The pink-haired woman opened the door and looked down on Gray with apathetic eyes. They shifted to Juvia, who was formed of ice, and her interest piqued slightly. "It's a long story, but I had to change her to ice to keep her safe, and now I need your help turning her back."

Porlyusica examined the ice Juvia and turned to Gray, saying, "I hate humans."

"I know, but you'll still help her, right?"

"I'll help her, you just need to go away!" Porlyusica said forcefully, swatting Gray a good distance from her house.

After a few moments, Gray saw Porlyusica emerge from a fork in two branches of her house, which was a hollow tree, carrying Juvia. She set her in the sunlight, made sure she was secure, and descended a latter.

"What? Why did you put her up there in the sun?" Gray asked.

"This is one reason I prefer not to talk to humans: you ask too many questions instead of letting me do what you ask me to do."

Gray ran up to Porlyusica before she could get back in her house. "Please, I just want to know what your plan is. Will she be okay?"

Porlyusica sighed, "Her magic power has returned to her, but she is still made of ice. All you have to do is wait for her to melt back into her normal self, and she'll be fine."

"Thank you," Gray said, and promptly ran back to where she'd pushed him before because he knew that's what she'd want.

"Oh, and when she does return to her normal self," Porlyusica warned him, "just go home and leave me alone."

Gray nodded and sat, staring at Juvia up in the sunlit tree. He thought about how, when he fought her that first day he'd met her, he naively thought she'd be an easy opponent. He could've just frozen her water body, which she saw as an advantage. And it was an advantage, it's her strongest weapon and defense. Now, he felt like running back to the guild and grabbing Natsu to come help, but decided against it. For one, he didn't want her to melt while he was gone, but he also didn't want Natsu to be the one to save her. The fire dragon was an annoying brat, and he didn't want to have to owe him anything.

The first part of Juvia to look normal again were her hands. She was conscious and had magic, so naturally, she smart water mage let streams of boiling water escape her palm, angling them towards her frozen body as best she could. Gray looked up in wonder, and almost impossibly fast, she was the same Juvia he'd always known, seeing him and happily running to he latter, flying down it with an excited, "Gray-sama!"

"Hey, Juvia," he whispered into her ear as she slammed into him, wrapping her arms so tight around his chest, Gray felt like she might never let go. He wrapped his arms around her as well, because if neither of them ever let go of the other, that would be perfectly fine.


End file.
